Murali enjoying Iron County internship

SHRUTHI MURALI, right, an intern at the Iron County University of Wisconsin-Extension office and Iron County Health Department, speaks with Ruth Hoepner, left, and Diana Swanson at Southgate Village in Hurley on Thursday as part of a presentation on staying strong. Murali is an intern through the Wisconsin Area Health Center and will be working in the community until August.

HURLEY — The Iron County University of Wisconsin-Extension office and Iron County Health Department will have some extra hands to help out this summer, after receiving an intern through the Wisconsin Area Health Education Center.

Shruthi Murali, of Rochester, Minn., recently started her internship and will finish in mid-August.

The main focus of her internship is on senior citizens and making Iron County a more "aging-friendly community."

The UW-Extension office and health department collaborated on the Senior Stay Strong, Stay Healthy grant and are using the funds to help promote the county as aging-friendly.

At the end of her internship, Murali has to create a presentation on how Iron County is becoming aging-friendly, and to spread the message, she is creating a retreat for local leaders and organizations.

The retreat will be on July 31 and community organizations, leaders and residents who are involved with senior care, nutrition, travel, etc., will be invited to attend.

"It will be a way to either implement or improve services for seniors in the community," Murali said.

Another aspect of Murali's internship is promoting a program called Stay Strong. She has traveled to different senior living centers and nutrition centers and presented a DVD featuring similar exercises to the Strong Women's Program.

In addition to the DVD presentations, she is also working with Deb Leonard, of the UW-Extension office, at the different senior nutrition sites across the county.

"Deb has to go to each site four times a year," Murali said. "And she brings samples of different nutritious foods. This year, we're trying to incorporate different cultures and broaden the range of nutritious foods for them to explore."

Murali recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently applying to medical schools. Her goal is to become a doctor with influences in public health.

"I love public health, and I love working here," Murali said. "I have really enjoyed the program and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in public health or in medicine."

For more information, call the Iron County UW-Extension office at 715-561-2695, or the Iron County Health Department 715-561-2191.